While the exact causes of the California fires raging in the Palisades area of Los Angeles are unknown yet, a Sunday report from The New York Times noted that 2024 was the hottest year in recorded history, which could help explain the deadly conflagration.
The combination of heat and dryness, which scientists say is linked to climate change, created the ideal conditions for an urban firestorm, it said. The report also cited Park Williams, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, as saying that “Wintertime fires in Southern California require a lot of extreme climate and weather events to occur at once.”
The New York Times is just one of the Western media outlets that have linked the California fires to climate change. According to a recent BBC report, scientists say climate change has made the grasses and shrubs that are fueling the Los Angeles fires more vulnerable to burning.
As the latest extreme weather event, the California fires underscore a troubling trend: these incidents are becoming increasingly furious and unpredictable. This alarming pattern serves as a stark warning of the escalating impacts of global climate change, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive action, especially by the US. Yet, based on American media reports about the fires, there is reason to be concerned that the disaster could once again become something for the two parties to attack each other, delaying the responsibilities that the US should undertake regarding climate issues.
In light of the pressing and severe challenges posed by climate change, however, the performance of the US – one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters in the world – has been disappointing. The US is supposed to bear a significant responsibility in addressing climate change, but the reality stands in stark contrast to such expectations. The US government’s approach to climate change has been fluctuating, full of uncertainty and lacking both coherence and resolve. This persistent uncertainty in policy not only hampers the advancement of meaningful domestic climate action but also diminishes the US’ leadership role and influence in the realm of global climate governance.
In the US, there remains a part of the population that is skeptical about the urgency and importance of climate change, while Republicans and Democrats don’t see eye to eye on climate change. Meanwhile, interest groups, particularly those within the fossil fuel industry, employ a range of lobbying tactics aimed at obstructing the passage of more ambitious and effective climate policy legislation. As a result, the interplay of public skepticism, political opposition and powerful lobbying efforts creates a complex and challenging landscape for US climate policy, hindering progress and delaying necessary action to address the pressing environmental crisis.
Moreover, while the US has rejoined the Paris Agreement, renewing its commitment to tackle the global threat of climate change, it has yet to demonstrate the expected actions and leadership. This lack of action has had a negative impact on international climate cooperation, eroding the US’ credibility and leadership in global climate initiatives. Other countries could be left with doubts and concerns when engaging in climate collaboration with the US, casting a shadow over the future of global climate governance.
The short-sighted behavior of the US in the realm of new energy is another microcosm of the dilemma of its climate change policy. The US government tends to prioritize the protection of domestic industries over active participation in international cooperation, resorting to trade protectionism to curb more advanced and competitive technologies and products from other countries. This approach has not only undermined the long-term interests of the US itself but also obstructed the broader process of global climate governance.
In this context, the California fires serve as a severe alert about the urgent need for an efficient climate change policy and action in the US, which is also a reminder for nations worldwide of the importance of taking decisive actions to address climate change. This global challenge knows no borders, and the actions, or inactions, of any single country could affect the global climate system. Only through collective action can nations effectively tackle climate change and prevent more severe disasters.
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